The funding will be used for further technology development, team expansion and new laboratory space.
Prague, 15 March 2023 – Czech academic startup Sophomer s.r.o. has announced an investment of up to EUR 340 000 from i&i Biotech Fund. The funding will be used for further technology development, team expansion and new laboratory space. Sophomer s.r.o. was established at the end of 2022 as a result of a collaboration between the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry CAS, the company Elisa Development, and the bio-innovation center i&i Prague. The establishment of Sophomer represents another unique example of successful technology transfer.
Synthesis of a polymer product at a defined temperature in a bath.
Sophomer s.r.o. specializes in the development and production of synthetic polymers for in vitro diagnostics. The first product to be launched in the upcoming months is SophoMer F10. This polymer could fully replace the widely used bovine serum albumin (BSA) in common immunological assays. BSA blocks unwanted signals during testing, which in turn increases the measurement accuracy.
Martin Burkhard, managing director of Sophomer s.r.o., describes the key advantages of the new polymer: “Because the production of our fully synthetic polymer requires no animal-derived constituents, we eliminated the problem of pathogen occurrence and the associated need to obtain veterinary certificates. It also means we’re able to produce individual lots in a standardized quality, which typically presents a significant challenge otherwise. Lastly, SophoMer F10 is at least five times more efficient than BSA.”
The company is currently collaborating with a leading European manufacturer on the development of diagnostic kits utilizing SophoMer F10 as the primary component. In addition, internal tests carried out by several important in vitro diagnostics manufacturers are nearing completion. If everything turns out well, nothing should prevent the world’s largest manufacturers from using SophoMer F10 polymer in their diagnostic kits. Finally, Sophomer s.r.o. has also recently begun developing three additional polymers.
The necessary costs associated with the growth of the startup will be covered by the initial investment provided by i&i Biotech Fund specializing in unique academic startups in the areas of drug discovery, diagnostics, and medical technologies. “We were particularly interested in this young Czech startup because of its dynamism. In record time its team managed to sign a licensing agreement, start operations, secure their first contract, and launch the first product. We have every faith in their science and in their ability to attract industry partners. We’re pleased to be a part of this promising project from square one,” says Tomáš Maršálek, financial director at i&i Biotech Fund.
The ability to attract its first investor represents an important milestone in the history of the company, the creation of which is a model example of effective technology transfer. “Technology transfer is a long haul, but it’s an essential part of conveying research results into practice. Without it, many outstanding scientific discoveries would fall by the wayside. Our task in this journey is to be a useful intermediary, helping cutting-edge technologies find applications on the market,” explains Jiří Moos from i&i Prague, which has been with the project since its inception.
Contact:
Martin Kovalčík, 777 472 863, kovalcik@iniprague.com